Spiga Clan
|image name=Spiga Symbol.svg |unnamed clan=No |kanji=Spiga Ichizoku |romaji=穂一族 |literal=Spiga Clan |other= , |affiliations=Konohagakure, |media=Anime, Manga, Game, Movie }} The is a clan from Konohagakure, with a symbiotic relationship with spiders they act as a rival to the Aburame clan. Background The Spiga originated in the Land of Fire near the North-Western border. Originally a religious all female cult that worshiped a giant spider, they built their homes underground in a series of interconnected tunnels, luring male travelers and merchants into their dens for breeding, cannibalizing, and feeding to their spider goddess. Local militia and hired ninja eventually drove them deeper into the underground and into hiding. It is believed it was during their time in hiding that they began to learn the secrets of ninjutsu, not only to survive, but to be closer to their spider goddess, whom they loved. In the outside world, the story of the Spiga became something of a local legend. Cattle gone missing, children disappearing, it was the Spiga, giant werespiders that lived underground, or so they said. But the reality was their numbers were growing and their genepool was small. Children began to be birthed with more than normal limbs or with internal bleeding, sometimes with scales or they would rip out of their mothers while other mothers began to lay eggs. Some considered this a blessing, but the risk outweighed the benefit. They began to abduct outsiders again to diversify their genepool while their numbers increased. This was a great and violent time for the Spiga. Madness and power were both at an all time high and they were an independant and proud Clan that needed no others. Unfortunately, it wasn't to last. The newly formed Konoha discovered them on accident when their border patrols began to vanish without a trace. Konoha's response was far more than the Spiga had ever had to handle in the past. They had been fierce hunters, but they had never fought any wars with outsiders. They had never dealt with waves of highly trained ninja utilizing a multitude of jutsu. They fought hard, but were burned out of their Clan Home and eventually, the three Matriarchs of the Clan were reduced to only one and she surrendered. Far from being angry with the Konoha ninja, they bowed to their prowess and swore their loyalty for as long as it was mutually profitable. They moved their clan home to the side of a cliff face and the underground in the forest surrounding Konoha. There they guard their land jealously and have maintained a reasonable size. They have since civilzed, some, and regularly take in outsiders as mates. They intensely dislike the Aburame and take every opportunity they can, as a clan, to show their superiority, once threatening to let their spiders eat the Aburame's young. During the Third Shinobi World War, there was a small civil war between the Spiga and many of their males who wished to leave the Clan due to their highly brutal treatment of their men. In the end, many did manage to escape, leaving Konoha for fear of retribution, and finding a home in Kumogakure, where they founded their own Clan known as the Kumonga. The Spiga, to this day, despise the Kumonga. Many will kill them on sight. Structure The Spiga Clan is made up of two governing bodies, the Council (that decides on the majority of issues, manages the clan business, presents issues to the Matriarch, and upholds the clan's traditions) and the Matriarch (a single entity that walks the fine line between giant spider and shinobi. Her word is law and she has final say on all matters, regardless of what the council has to say about it). Otherwise, the clan is matriarchal and one's position is largely determined by their power, success rate, and overall ability. Males are treated widely as expendable and weak and are killed and often cannibalized if they appear too weak or insubordinate. There are also several rites of passage that determine one's rank within the clan and what clan jutsu they're allowed to learn. The rites are as follows: The Rite of Birth Spiga are born into spider webs where they remain until a giant spider either devours the baby or takes it in. The Rite of Coming of Age This begins before puberty. The adolescent is taken to watch giant spiders mate. The male is almost inevitably killed and eaten by the female and sometimes even lays eggs in the male's body cavity. They are then told about assessing worthiness in their potential mates. At this point, the child is allowed to harvest small spider eggsacs from the lesser spiders. The Rite of Three Days The Spiga has been seen as strong enough to have earned the right to raise a spider for themselves and learn the Spider Transformation Technique. The Spiga is bitten by a particular kind of spider whose venom causes the initial transformation. The Rite of Challenge The Spiga challenges another for their position, family, possessions, and mate. A challenge is made by spitting blood in the eyes of the one they wish to challenge. All challenges are to the death. This method of social climbing is rarely seen in the modern age. The Rite of Ascendence Every five years, the members of the council must defend their positions from the strongest of the clan. Unlike most challenges, this is not a fight to the death as members of the council are among the strongest of the clan and they see no reason to destroy their strongest members. If the coucil decides that a council member has chosen a weak challenge, the council will choose their match. Even being chosen to participate in the Rite of Ascendence is an honor. The Rite of Seniorship Upon reaching old age, the Spiga will participate in a Rite that is similar to the Rite of Three Days. At the end of it, those who remain human are venerated and taken care of and their position, whatever it was, becomes one of advisery, instruction, or record-keeping. Those that choose to become spiders live a second life and are venerated as mothers and protectors of the Clan. There is much honor in this. The Rite of Apprenticeship A very rare rite, one is chosen for instruction from the Matriarch herself and given all the secrets, jutus, history, and lore of the clan. A Spiga selected fo this is honored higher than the members of the council, though possess no official political power that they would not ordinarily have. It is likely to see an apprentice maybe once per several generations. There have been, in the history of the Spiga, three.